Youre a Grand Old Flag
(George M. Cohan, 1906)
1. There's a feeling comes a-stealing,
And it sets my brain a-reeling,
When I'm list'ning to the music of a military band.
Any tune like "Yankee Doodle"
Simply sets me off my noodle,
It's that patriotic something that no one can understand.
"Way down South, in the land of cotton,"1
Melody untiring,
Ain't that inspiring?
Hurrah! Hurrah! We'll join the jubilee!2
And that's going some, for the Yankees, by gum!3
Red, White and Blue, I am for you!
Honest, you're a grand old flag!
Chorus
You're a grand old flag,
You're a high-flying flag,
And forever in peace may you wave.
You're the emblem of the land I love,
The home of the free and the brave.5
Ev'ry heart beats true
'Neath the Red, White and Blue,6
Where there's never a boast or brag.
But should auld acquaintance be forgot,7
Keep your eye on the grand old flag.
2. I'm no cranky hanky panky,
I'm a dead square, honest Yankee,
And I'm mighty proud of that old flag that flies for Uncle Sam.
Though I don't believe in raving
Ev'ry time I see it waving,
There's a chill runs up my back that makes me glad I'm what I am.
Here's a land with a million soldiers,
That's if we should need 'em,
We'll fight for freedom!
Hurrah! Hurrah! For ev'ry Yankee Tar,4
And old G.A.R., ev'ry stripe, ev'ry star.
Red, White and Blue, hats off to you!
Honest, you're a grand old flag! Chorus.
Notes
2. Reference to "Marching Through Georgia."
3. Line taken directly from the previous year's Cohan hit, "The Yankee Doodle Boy".
4. Old fashioned slang for a sailor, a.k.a. "Jack Tar".
5. Reference to "The Star-Spangled Banner."
6. Or "Under Red, White and Blue".
7. Reference to "Auld Lang Syne".
Source: You're a Grand Old Flag, Wikipedia, amended from the 1906 sheet music
"You're a Grand Old Flag" from the Library of Congress
You're a Grand Old Flag, Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/You%27re_a_Grand_Old_Flag
You're a Grand Old Flag Sheet Music at Library of Congress
https://www.loc.gov/resource/ihas.100010512.0?st=gallery